Many types of electronic devices are equipped with connectivity features that enable the devices to communicate with other electronic devices and/or networks. For example, multi-purpose electronic devices such as personal computers (“PCs”) commonly communicate from time-to-time with a variety of other electronic devices, including but not limited to other PCs, servers, personal digital assistants, mobile phones, navigation devices, media players and/or media capture devices, home entertainment devices, printers, and faxes to perform various user-directed tasks.
A PC, for example, often presents a user interface via which a user can direct the performance of various tasks related to other, connected electronic devices. Often, the user interface for a particular device type is a generic interface (an interface provided for use with a particular operating system, for example) that is presented by the PC, despite the fact that a multitude of independent hardware vendors (“IHVs”) may manufacture and/or distribute devices of a particular type. An IHV generally has to expend significant software design, development, and distribution effort and cost to provide customized, secure user interfaces for specific electronic devices or types thereof.